


He Loves You

by lavenderlotion



Series: Ficlets for: 'Drabble Challenge: 1-150' [9]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski, Stilinski Family Feels, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 02:44:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14275194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion
Summary: For the prompt: “I forgot I was a single parent.”





	He Loves You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [frostedgoddess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostedgoddess/gifts).



> this was supposed to be fun and happy, i don't know what happened

“Kiddo?” John asked, and he can’t help the concern that bleeds into his voice. 

His son… his son looked  _ wrecked _ . Gutted. Stiles was standing in the middle of his office, staring into nothing, his hands completely still at his sides. John had no idea what the hell happened, but the last time his son looked like that, he was telling John that Lydia had cancer, and that he didn’t want to be a single parent.

“Why aren’t you at work?” he asked again, even more worried as Stiles just continued to hunch in on himself. 

He stood from behind his desk, walked around until he was stood in front of his son. John placed a hand on Stiles’ shoulder, but Stiles didn’t react. John—John wasn’t even sure if Stiles knew where he was, and John’s heart began to beat faster, fear beginning to settle heavy in his stomach. He had no idea what was going on.

“Claudia is in the front. Tara is watching her,” his son said, finally, and Stiles’ voice was… was,  _ nothing _ . Monotone. Sullen. It didn’t make John feel any better.

“Why is she here?” John asked, his mind racing. There were only so many reasons Stiles would have left work to get his daughter from school, only to then bring her to the station, and none of them were great.

“I forgot I was a single parent,” Stiles’ voice broke, a tear leaking out of his eye at the admission.

John’s own breath caught, and he felt like his whole world slowed to a stop. He had never heard his son sound so— _ hopeless _ , before. 

“Daddy,” Stiles said, the word nothing more than a sob, and John pulled him into a hug.

He held his son tightly, maybe too tight, but Stiles clutched back at him just as desperately. John’s heart broke, and it  _ ached _ when Stiles buried his face in John’s chest. He had no idea what to do, how to make any of this better for his boy. He knew what Stiles was talking about, of course he did, but he didn’t know how to help.

John had never dated after Claudia, not until Chris had marched into his life and didn’t leave him much of a choice. But that was still so recent, hardly even a few years, and he had never dated while Stiles was growing up. John had no advice to offer his son, and he spent a long moment debating if he should offer to shoot the man who broke his son’s heart.

Though, John knew it was less of Hale breaking his sons heart, and more of his son breaking his own. He knew how much Derek loved Stiles but—but his son was cautious of his own heart now. It had been broken too many times for him to give it away to anyone else. John knew what that felt like, and he couldn’t fault Stiles for being careful.

He just wished his son didn’t have to break his own heart in the process of protecting it.

“You should tell Derek you love him, before it’s too late,” John said, voice soft in the silence of the room. He wasn’t sure when his office door was closed, but he wouldn’t be surprised if had been by Claudia. His granddaughter had always been incredible at reading people.

“I’m not going to put that on him,” Stiles said, and he wrapped his arms tighter around John.

John returned the hug, tried to push all the love he held for his son out of himself and into Stiles. Maybe, maybe Stiles would be able to see just how  _ wonderful _ he was, if it was through someone else's eyes.

“He loves you,” John told him, pushed all the authority he had ever earned as a Sheriff into his words and fucking  _ hoped _ his son would believe him.

“I know,” Stiles said, voice breaking again, “I know.”

John stood there, feeling horrible, and sick, and  _ useless _ , as his son shook apart in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> since I have gotten so many prompts, i have decided to post one-two a day for the rest of the month!
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr!!!](https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/)


End file.
